New DARKTHRONE album "Circle the Wagons" available 3/8/10

On the one hand they - or at least Fenriz - make a point to assure listeners that Darkthrone has abandoned black metal. I can respect that. On the other hand, and as mentioned before, they aren't particularly skilled when it comes to identifying influences and offering a cohesive take on them. I'll pass on this one.

I like Fenriz, he seems a cool guy who'd be fun to drink with. And that's probably why many people leap to his defence over his shitty new music. It's like kicking a puppy or something and everyone wants to be his pal these days, especially in the metal media. And he's willing to oblige them, because I think he very much enjoys his current position as iconic lovable weird metalhead (a kind of underground metal Ozzy Osbourne).

It got worse. "The Cult Is Alive" was an honest fuck that statement, equally derivative as the previous two albums, but at least it felt as if the guys had some sort of fun while recording. It would have even worked in the long term if Darkthrone was an Amebix/Green Day clone from A to Z. Alas, with the next two releases, DT stopped even being fun and/or funny.

When did they fall to pieces? The last album I have by them isTransilvanian Hunger and I have never heard anything after (asides from the track available forCircle the Wagons).

Panzerfaust is the safe bet for placement as "Darkthrone's last good album." Total Death is good(decent), but not any more so than the dozens of one-off albums by otherwise silent bands. I'm in the minority for liking Goatlord, meaning you're more likely to dislike it than like it. I can even enjoy Ravishing Grimness, but only slightly, and only on very rare occasions. Assume Panzerfaust or Total Death will be your cut-off point.

When did they fall to pieces? The last album I have by them isTransilvanian Hunger and I have never heard anything after (asides from the track available forCircle the Wagons).

You might better stay as you were - go out on a high note, so to speak. As you can see, beyond that things are rarely better than "decent," passable, or at best possessed of good moments. So why bother really?

I can't see how "Panzerfaust" could be considered as anything less than amazing; the skaldic art of "Quintessence" and "Sno og Granskog" being included side by side with the stony citadels of celtic frost, while "Hans Siste Vinter" and "En Vind av Sorg" are probably the best melodies they wrote. Imagine those as classical renditions! The only downside is that it's not as coherent an album as the previous one - a collection of short stories as opposed to a novel. It is obvious that they saw the death of black metal as imminent and unleashed their genius for the last time to show glimpses of something eternal, to molest the mainstream and leave the scene with fond memories. Too bad they succumbed to Satyr's or someone else's Jewish manipulations and agreed to "reunite" for too many more albums.

I enjoyed panzerfaust, even the whole "this album is dedicated to satyr, yada yada" butt fest, who the fuck is satyr besides a Trent reznor wannabe? And darkthrone is trying to impress the crust scenesters in Portland now it seems, I think a lot of the west coast crust bands use a lot of that native American theme artwork like hellshock, etc.

I can't see how "Panzerfaust" could be considered as anything less than amazing; the skaldic art of "Quintessence" and "Sno og Granskog" being included side by side with the stony citadels of celtic frost, while "Hans Siste Vinter" and "En Vind av Sorg" are probably the best melodies they wrote. Imagine those as classical renditions! The only downside is that it's not as coherent an album as the previous one - a collection of short stories as opposed to a novel. It is obvious that they saw the death of black metal as imminent and unleashed their genius for the last time to show glimpses of something eternal, to molest the mainstream and leave the scene with fond memories. Too bad they succumbed to Satyr's or someone else's Jewish manipulations and agreed to "reunite" for too many more albums.

"The only downside is that it's not as coherent an album as the previous one - a collection of short stories as opposed to a novel." - I think that this is precisely why it isn't as highly regarded as Transilvanian Hunger.

"...they saw the death of black metal as imminent..." I think this is actually the perfect way to describe the album. Quintessence especially puts this into perspective. The whole song gives a sense of decay, self-destruction, and defeat, but still overflowing with power; like the dieing screams of a great man destroyed by the multitudes of the weak and foolish.

I enjoyed panzerfaust, even the whole "this album is dedicated to satyr, yada yada" butt fest, who the fuck is satyr besides a Trent reznor wannabe? And darkthrone is trying to impress the crust scenesters in Portland now it seems, I think a lot of the west coast crust bands use a lot of that native American theme artwork like hellshock, etc.

Yeah I've noticed that too. I like Darkthrone, and I like Hellshock, but what the hell is Darkthrone DOING now?